SCOUR

To rub hard with something rough, as sand or Bristol brick, especially for the purpose of cleaning; to clean by friction; to make clean or bright; to cleanse from grease, dirt, etc., as articles of dress.

To purge; as, to scour a horse.

To remove by rubbing or cleansing; to sweep along or off; to carry away or remove, as by a current of water; -- often with off or away. [I will] stain my favors in a bloody mask, Which, washed away, shall scour my shame with it. Shak.

To pass swiftly over; to brush along; to traverse or search thoroughly; as, to scour the coast. Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain. Pope. Scouring barrel, a tumbling barrel. See under Tumbling. -- Scouring cinder (Metal.), a basic slag, which attacks the lining of a shaft furnace. Raymond. -- Scouring rush. (Bot.) See Dutch rush, under Dutch. -- Scouring stock (Woolen Manuf.), a kind of fulling mill.

To clean anything by rubbing. Shak.

To cleanse anything. Warm water is softer than cold, for it scoureth better. Bacon.

To be purged freely; to have a diarrhoea.

To run swiftly; to rove or range in pursuit or search of something; to scamper. So four fierce coursers, starting to the race, Scour through the plain, and lengthen every pace. Dryden.

Diarrhoea or dysentery among cattle.